Pretoria Normal College
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The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
in
Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...
, the administrative and '' de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
-based
Transvaal University College Transvaal University College was a multi-campus public research university in South Africa which gave rise to the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Pretoria. History In 1896 the South African School of Mines was founded in Ki ...
and is the fourth South African institution in continuous operation to be awarded university status. The university has grown from the original 32 students in a single late Victorian house to approximately 53,000 in 2019. The university was built on seven suburban campuses on . The university is organised into nine faculties and a business school. Established in 1920, the
University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Science The Faculty of Veterinary Science is a faculty of the University of Pretoria. Founded in 1920, it is the second oldest veterinary faculty in Africa. With the exception of the faculties in Khartoum (Sudan, 1938), and Cairo (Egypt, 1946), all ...
is the second oldest
veterinary school Veterinary education is the tertiary education of veterinarians. To become a veterinarian, one must first complete a degree in veterinary medicine Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM, V.M.D., BVS, BVSc, BVMS, BVM etc.). In the United States and C ...
in Africa and the only veterinary school in South Africa. In 1949, the university launched the first
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
programme outside North America, and the university's
Gordon Institute of Business Science The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) affiliated with the University of Pretoria, is a business school situated in Illovo, Johannesburg, South Africa. The institution has received accreditation from the Council on Higher Education (CHE ...
(GIBS) has consistently been ranked the top business school in Africa for executive education, as well as being placed in the top 50 in the world. In 2012, the
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
ranked the GIBS Executive MBA 1st in Africa and 60th in the world. Since 1997, the university has produced more research outputs every year than any other institution of higher learning in South Africa, as measured by the
Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
's accreditation benchmark. In 2008, the university awarded 15.8% of all masters and doctorate degrees in South Africa, the highest percentage in the country. The DHET report, released in March 2019, shows that UP achieved the highest percentage (10,93%) of the total research output units of all South African universities for 2017. Fifty-three UP researchers are in the top 1% according to the Web of Science Index of 2019. The university is commonly referred to as UP, Tuks, or Tukkies and in
post-nominals Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...
the university is typically abbreviated as Pret or UP, although Pretoria is also used in official publications.


History


Foundational years: 1889–1929

The proposal for a university for the capital, first mooted in the
Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government. Assembly South Africa * Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902) * Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia ...
in 1889, was interrupted by the outbreak of the
Anglo–Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
in 1899. In 1896, the South African School of Mines was founded in
Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...
. Eight years later, in 1904, the school was moved to Johannesburg and was renamed the Transvaal Technical Institute. The school's name changed yet again in 1906 to Transvaal University College. In 1902, after the signing of the
Peace of Vereeniging The Treaty of Vereeniging was a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other. This settlement provided ...
, the Normal College for teacher training was established in Groenkloof, Pretoria. On 4 March 1908, when the Transvaal University College (TUC) transferred its arts and science courses to its newly established Pretoria campus, the precursor to the university was established, initially offering courses in languages, sciences, and law. Instruction commenced with 32 students, 4 professors and 3 lecturers in the
Kya Rosa Kya Rosa is a beautifully decorated late-Victorian house at the main entrance to the University of Pretoria in Pretoria, South Africa. The original building was constructed in Skinner Street in 1895 and belonged to Leo Weinthal, owner of ''The ...
, 270 Skinner Street a late
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
residence purchased from Leo Weinthal the then owner of ''The Press'' (forerunner to the ''
Pretoria News ''Pretoria News'' is a daily English-medium newspaper established in 1898 in South Africa's capital city Pretoria. It is distributed in the Tshwane Metropolitan area. ''Pretoria News'' covers a range of local news, as well as national and inter ...
'' newspaper). The first four professors were H. Th. Reinink (Dutch), J. Purves (Scottish), D.F. du Toit Malherbe (South African) and A.C. Paterson (Scottish), who would also become the first vice-chancellor. In 1910, the colonial secretary, General
Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...
tabled the act constituting the university as a separate entity before the Transvaal Parliament, the "Transvaalse and Universiteits-Inlijvingswet" Law 1 of 1910. On 17 May 1910, the Johannesburg and Pretoria campuses separated, each becoming an independent institution. The Johannesburg campus being reincorporated as the
South African School of Mines and Technology The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...
, while the Pretoria campus retained the name of Transvaal University College until 1930. The
South African School of Mines and Technology The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...
would later go on to become the
University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...
in 1922. In 1910, the TUC acquired its own campus in the east of Pretoria, what is now the western part of the university's main campus in Hatfield. On 3 August 1910, Governor-General Herbert John Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone laid the cornerstone of the Old Arts Building, the first building to be built on the newly established Hatfield campus. The building's striking
Cape Dutch Cape Dutch, also commonly known as Cape Afrikaners, were a historic socioeconomic class of Afrikaners who lived in the Western Cape during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The terms have been evoked to describe an affluent, educated sect ...
and
Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
architectural style was recognised in 1968 when it was declared a provincial heritage site. During this time the colloquial name for the university, Tukkies or Tuks, was derived from the
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
acronym for the college, i.e. Transvaalse Universiteitskollege (TUK). The late 1910s and early 1920s saw the establishment of several faculties as the academic activities were expanded. Courses in agriculture (1917), theology (1918), economics and political science (1919), veterinary science (1920), and music (1923) were established as the institution grew.


Establishment and expansion years 1929–1982

On 10 October 1930, the University of Pretoria Private Act, No. 13 of 1930 changed the name of the TUC to the University of Pretoria. The TUC originally established as an English-medium institution had evolved into the only fully bilingual university in South Africa and remained as such until the early 1930s. The rapid increase of Afrikaans-speaking students brought about an imbalance between the demographics of students and the languages of instruction. By 1931, although 65% of students were Afrikaans-speaking, 68% of the classes were conducted in English. In 1932, the University Council addressed the imbalance, deciding that Afrikaans would become the only medium of instruction. An increase in student numbers necessitated the building of new facilities such as the Club Hall and Administration Building (colloquially known as the ship) when the seventh faculty, the Medical Faculty, was established in 1943. This period further saw the establishment of numerous student activities such as the annual Spring Day event and intervarsity. Student publications established include the ''Trek'' in 1931, the first ''Rag Mag'' in 1936 and the weekly student newspaper ''Die Perdeby'' in 1939. The period of 1948–1982 is characterised by the substantial increase in numbers of an almost exclusively white student body and the concomitant physical growth of the university infrastructure. The nearly doubling of student numbers demanded the physical expansion of the Hatfield campus and new buildings were built in quick succession as the campus grew eastward. In the mid-1960s, the university urgently required additional land and acquired the adjacent property of Christian Brothers' College, Saint Gabriel's. This property now forms the eastern section of the Hatfield campus. In 1949, the university founded the Graduate School of Management (GSM),


Transformation years: 1982 and beyond

During the period of 1982 to 2008, the university transformed into a bilingual, multiracial and inclusive institution. The comparatively smooth introduction of students from all races formed the initial impetus for transformation and in 1989 the university was declared officially desegregated and opened for all races. In 1993, a policy document was introduced, aiming to position the university in a newly democratic South Africa. In 1994, the university regained its status as a bilingual university when a new language policy was adopted. However, in 2019 a new language policy was adopted which discontinued Afrikaans as a language of instruction in favour of English only. In 1999, the only two veterinary science faculties in the country, those of the University of Pretoria and
Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU; ) is a medical university in Ga-Rankuwa, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Its current incarnation was formed on 1 January 2015. Previously, it was known as Medical University of South Africa (MEDUN ...
, formerly Medunsa, were amalgamated. The university's Onderstepoort campus once again housed the only veterinary faculty in South Africa. In 2000, the Teachers Training College Pretoria, formerly the Normal College Pretoria founded in 1902, was incorporated into the university's Faculty of Education, which saw the faculty moving to the self-sufficient
Groenkloof Groenkloof (Afrikaans for 'Green ravine') is a residential suburb of Pretoria, South Africa. This wealthy suburb in Pretoria is famous for its white Jacaranda trees. It is close to the city centre, and to the well-known Brooklyn Square and Men ...
campus. The university's business school in Illovo,
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, the
Gordon Institute of Business Science The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) affiliated with the University of Pretoria, is a business school situated in Illovo, Johannesburg, South Africa. The institution has received accreditation from the Council on Higher Education (CHE ...
(GIBS), was established in January 2000 following a substantial contribution by Sir Donald Gordon, the founder of Liberty Life and
Liberty International Intu Properties plc was a British real estate investment trust (REIT), largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Originally named Transatlantic Insurance Holdings plc and later Liberty International plc, it changed its name ...
, and a major investment by the University of Pretoria following discussions which started in 1998. The now defunct
Vista University Vista University, South Africa was founded by the apartheid government to ensure that urban black South Africans seeking tertiary education would be accommodated within the townships rather than on campuses reserved for other population groups. ...
's
Mamelodi Mamelodi is a township northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. A part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, it was set up by the then apartheid government in 1953. Etymology In 2011, GIBS opened a satellite campus on Pritchard Street in the inner city of Johannesburg. The Business school follows on the university's, now defunct Graduate School of Management's, long tradition of
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
tuition as the first business school outside North America and replaced it in January 2008.


Administration and organisation


Governance

As set out in th
Higher Education Act No 101 of 1997
the university is governed by the council with the vice-chancellor and principal
Professor Francis Petersen
the executive head responsible for the day-to-day administration, and the chancellor,
Justice Sisi Khampempe In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes'' of Justinian, a ...
, being the non-resident titular head of the university. The registrar is responsible for the academic administration of the university, as well as legal matters, and is secretary to the University Council and Senate. The university's academic activities are divided into nine faculties and one business school. Whilst the faculties comprise 140 departments and 85 institutes, bureaus and centres.


Main campus


Hatfield

The university's main campus and central administration offices are situated in the suburb of Hatfield,
Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...
and houses six of the nine faculties. The campus, bordered by the suburb of
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
to the south and Hatfield to the north, was built over and has more than 60 buildings of historical value. Adjacent to the Hatfield campus is the Hillcrest campus, which contains the High Performance Centre and LC de Villiers Sports Grounds, which were developed on . Adjacent to the sport grounds is the university's experimental farm, which is used to conduct field experiments for the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. The campus is served by the Hatfield Gautrain station connecting Pretoria and
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
. A university bus shuttle service operates between the Hatfield campus and the Groenkloof and Prinshof campuses, whilst a park-and-ride shuttle service operates between the Hatfield and Hillcrest campus.


Museums

The university's art collection consists primarily of paintings, sculptures and graphic works by South African artists including the likes of
Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef Jacobus Hendrik (Henk) Pierneef (usually referred to as Pierneef) (13 August 1886 Pretoria – 4 October 1957 Pretoria), was a South African landscape artist, generally considered to be one of the best of the old South African masters. His distin ...
, Gregoire Boonzaier,
William Kentridge William Kentridge (born 28 April 1955) is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films. He is especially noted for a sequence of hand-drawn animated films he produced during the 1990s, constructed by filming ...
and Sam Nhlengethwa. The collection also incorporates artworks by renowned international artists such as
Max Pechstein Hermann Max Pechstein (31 December 1881 – 29 June 1955) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and a member of the Die Brücke group. He fought on the Western Front during World War I and his art was classified as Degenerate A ...
,
Käthe Kollwitz Käthe Kollwitz ( born Schmidt; 8 July 186722 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including ''The Weavers'' and ''The Peasa ...
,
Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...
,
George Grosz George Grosz (; ; born Georg Ehrenfried Groß; July 26, 1893 – July 6, 1959) was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Obj ...
,
Otto Mueller Otto Melller (16 October 1874 – 24 September 1930) was a German painter and printmaker of the Die Brücke expressionist movement. Life and work Mueller was born in Liebau (now Lubawka, Kamienna Góra County), Kreis Landeshut, Silesia. ...
, Thomas Benton and
Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...
. The university's sculpture collection, the largest such collection in South Africa, contains sculptures by Sidney Kumalo, Maureen Quinn, Michael Teffo, Anton Smit, Anton van Wouw, Edoardo Villa and others. The Old Arts Building was proclaimed a provincial heritage site in 1968 and houses the Van Tilburg Collection, Van Gybland-Oosterhoff Collection and
Mapungubwe Collection The Mapungubwe Collection, held by the University of Pretoria museums in its Old Arts Building, consists of archaeological materials excavated by the former University of Gauteng from the Mapungubwe archaeological site since its discovery in 1933. ...
. The university is the custodian of the collection of artefacts found at the
Mapungubwe The Kingdom of Mapungubwe (pronounced ) was an ancient state located at the confluence of the Shashe River, Shashe and Limpopo River, Limpopo rivers in South Africa, south of Great Zimbabwe. The capital's population was 5,000 by 1250, and the s ...
National Park and
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
and such display these artefacts in the Javett Art Centre. Gold ornaments, ivory, bone, ceramic-ware, clay figurines, trade beads, iron and copper artefacts are on permanent public display. The
Van Gybland-Oosterhoff Collection The Van Gybland-Oosterhoff collection of the University of Pretoria in South Africa, collected by and donated by Louise Jeanette van Gybland Oosterhoff (1885–1973) in honor of her brother Dr Horace Hugo Alexander van Gybland Oosterhoff (1887–19 ...
is a ceramic collection, donated by Dr Horace Hugo Alexander van Gybland Oosterhoff and accepted by the university on 14 March 1939, is the largest collection of objects, publications, memorabilia and photographs of historical interest, relating to Dutch culture outside the Netherlands. The Old Merensky Library houses the Edoardo Villa Museum, the home of the largest collection of sculptures by the Italian artist Edoardo Villa and one South Africa's most renowned sculptors, as well as sculptures by Anton van Wouw and the largest work by the artist Alexis Preller (3m x 13m) titled ''The Discovery''. Other art collections include the
Christo Coetzee Christo Coetzee (24 March 1929 – 12 November 2000) was a South African Assemblage (art), assemblage and Neo-Baroque painting, Neo-Baroque artist closely associated with the avant-garde art movements of Europe and Japan during the 1950s and 19 ...
collection which was bequeathed to the university by the artist in 2001 and consists of more than 3000 objects, NKP Ceramics Collection,
Hilgard Muller Hilgard Muller, (4 May 1914 – 10 July 1985) was a South African politician of the National Party, Mayor of Pretoria in 1953–1955, elected an MP in 1958, appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs after the resignation of Eric Louw i ...
Collection, Mike Edwards Collection,
Kruger Krüger, Krueger, Kreuger‘’’’ or Kruger (without the umlaut ü) are German surnames originating from '' Krüger'', meaning tavern-keeper in Low German and potter in Central German and Upper German, both associated with the Germanic wor ...
Collection, Frans Esterhuizen Cartoon Collection, Baldinelli Trust Collection and
Mimi Coertse Maria Sophia (Mimi) Coertse, DMS (born 12 June 1932) is a South African soprano. On 26 January 2020, Mimi was also inaugurated as a living legend in the South African Legends Museum. She was one of only 20 South African legends of whom a bus ...
Collection. The university's Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Discovery Centre, Sci-Enza, was officially launched in 1977. The Discovery Centre is an umbrella complex where young children, students and adults can explore the world of science, engineering and technology in a "play-as-you-learn" way. Activities at the Centre museum include: a digital
planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...
; exploratorium;
camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...
; biological science exhibit; botanical garden and indigenous technology exhibit. File:Willem Lodewyk, Etching by Jacobus Houbraken 570004.jpg, File:University of pretoria equine sculpture.jpg, File:Mapungubwe, Limpopo, South Africa (20356187550).jpg,


Key places

The main hall and site of ceremonies, the Aula, was designed by Karel Jooste and completed in 1958. The Aula was the first opera house to be built in the capital and remained the major venue in the city until the State Theatre's completion in the early 1980s. The 1012-seat auditorium has played host to foreign dignitaries, presidents and local and international artists. The main music complex, comprising the 500-seat Musaion and 3000-seat Amphitheatre, was built between 1960 and 1964. The University Chapel, formally the Church of Saint Alfons Maria de Liguori, and the accompanying monastery, was built in 1925 and was bought from the Catholic Church in 1980. Saint Alfons, who was canonised in 1839, was the founder of the order of Ligournians (or
Redemptorists The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scala ...
), an order founded in 1732 in Naples, Italy and dedicated to helping underprivileged communities.


Other campuses


Onderstepoort, Pretoria

The possibility of training veterinarians in South Africa was frequently raised after the first Colonial Veterinary Surgeon in South Africa was appointed in approximately 1874, but it was not until 1920 that the Swiss-born veterinarian, Sir Arnold Theiler, was appointed as Director of Veterinary Education and Research at Onderstepoort under the supervision of the then Transvaal University College. New facilities were inaugurated at the end of 1921 and the first residence was opened in 1924. The first eight South African trained veterinarians qualified in 1924. The Faculty of Veterinary Sciences was developed on the Onderstepoort campus, with buildings covering a total of north-west of the Hatfield campus and north of the Pretoria city center. The
Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital The Faculty of Veterinary Science is a faculty of the University of Pretoria. Founded in 1920, it is the second oldest veterinary faculty in Africa. With the exception of the faculties in Khartoum (Sudan, 1938), and Cairo (Egypt, 1946), all ...
provides clinical services rendered with full student participation as part of the primary teaching mission of the Faculty of Veterinary Science. It is the only faculty in South Africa educating veterinarians and veterinary nurses.


Groenkloof, Pretoria

During the Conference of Teachers in Town and Refugee Camp Schools of the Transvaal and Orange River Colony of 1–10 July 1902, a resolution was passed to establish "Normal Schools" for the education of teachers in Johannesburg and Pretoria. The Pretoria Normal School, was first established in a house in 126 Rissik Street. In 1903 the Johannesburg Normal School's 40 students were transferred to Pretoria when it was closed and the Pretoria and Johannesburg institutions were merged to form the Transvaal Normal College. When the Transvaal University College was established in 1908 the first students include students from the Transvaal Normal College. In 1909 the school was renamed the Pretoria Normal College when new teacher training facilities were established in Heidelberg and Johannesburg. In 1954 the school was again renamed to the ''Onderwyskollege van Pretoria'' (English: Teachers College Pretoria). In 1974 the University of Pretoria took over the sole responsibility for training secondary teacher from the Teachers College Pretoria. Although the Teachers College Pretoria purchased new college grounds in Groenkloof during 1975, the college only occupied the new grounds in 1988 and was inaugurated in 1989. The Johannesburg , Transvaal College of Education, Laudium and the Transvaal Education College Soshanguve amalgamate and move their operations to the Teachers College Pretoria in 1993 and the latter two in 1998 respectively. In 2000 the Teachers Training College Pretoria was incorporated into the university's Faculty of Education, which saw the faculty moving from the main Hatfield campus to the self-sufficient
Groenkloof Groenkloof (Afrikaans for 'Green ravine') is a residential suburb of Pretoria, South Africa. This wealthy suburb in Pretoria is famous for its white Jacaranda trees. It is close to the city centre, and to the well-known Brooklyn Square and Men ...
campus.


Prinshof, Pretoria

Students in the Faculty of Health Sciences are taught at the
Prinshof Prinshof is an area in Pretoria. It is the home of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative ...
campus, adjoining the
Steve Biko Hospital Steve Biko Academic Hospital (formerly the Pretoria Academic Hospital and before 1994 called H F Verwoerd Hospital) of Pretoria, South Africa, previously located at what is now Tshwane District Hospital, is a purely tertiary training healthcare ...
(formerly Pretoria Academic Hospital and HF Verwoerd Hospital), the main healthcare training facility of the university, and the
Tshwane District Hospital Tshwane District Hospital (TDH) is a public sector hospital situated in Prinshof 349-Jr, a suburb of Pretoria, South Africa. It was established in 2006. It has approximately 200 beds. The building in which it is located was formerly known as H. ...
. Additional healthcare training facilities include the Kalafong Hospital on the western outskirts of Pretoria in the suburb of
Atteridgeville Atteridgeville also recently known as “Pheli” is a township located to the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is located to the east of Saulsville, to the west of West Park; to the north of Laudium and to the south of Lotus Gardens. The ...
, the
Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital Weskoppies is a public psychiatric hospital in Pretoria, Gauteng. It is situated to the west of the city centre and was built on the site of the old botanical gardens. The hospital is used by the University of Pretoria and the Sefako Makgatho ...
west of the city centre and built on the site of the old Pretoria botanical gardens and Tembisa Hospital south of Pretoria in the
East Rand The East Rand is a major urban area located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is the urban eastern part of Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation. The region extends from Alberton in the west to ...
, Johannesburg.


Illovo, Johannesburg

The university's business school, the
Gordon Institute of Business Science The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) affiliated with the University of Pretoria, is a business school situated in Illovo, Johannesburg, South Africa. The institution has received accreditation from the Council on Higher Education (CHE ...
(GIBS) purpose-designed by the architect and urban designer Henri Comrie, is situated along Illovo Boulevard, a mixed-use commercial precinct between the suburbs of Rosebank and
Sandton Sandton is a financial, commercial and residential area, located in the northern part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Formerly an independent municipality, Sandton's name came from the combination of two of its suburbs, Sa ...
in Johannesburg, with a satellite Inner City campus on Pritchard Street. The Illovo campus is served by the Rosebank Gautrain station, with a nearby Gautrain bus stop and the inner city campus by the Johannesburg Park Station. GIBS Europe operates out of London, United Kingdom offering company specific programmes.


Other sites

The
Witbank Witbank (), officially eMalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named ...
and
Hammanskraal Hammanskraal is a trans-provincial region anchored in northern Gauteng province, South Africa. The region consists of multiple residential, industrial, and commercial areas in a decentralized settlement pattern. History The historical roots of ...
satellite campuses, were established in 1988 and 1994 respectively and are used as additional practical facilities and for community engagement. The now defunct
Vista University Vista University, South Africa was founded by the apartheid government to ensure that urban black South Africans seeking tertiary education would be accommodated within the townships rather than on campuses reserved for other population groups. ...
's
Mamelodi Mamelodi is a township northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. A part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, it was set up by the then apartheid government in 1953. Etymology The Mamelodi campus hosts the extended BSc degree programme and functions as the community engagement hub for the university.


Academics


Library system

In 1933, the university decided that the library collection necessitated the building of a new library building, the collection which at that time was kept in the Old Arts building. The library was designed by the South African architect Gerard Moerdijk, following a donation of £10,000 (£ as of 2023) from mining geologist Hans Merensky and construction started in 1937. Drawing from his inspiration from Persia and Africa, the design of the building incorporates several architectural styles including Art Deco, Neo-Classicism, Arts and Crafts, Cape Dutch and Regency. The Old Merensky Library was proclaimed a
provincial heritage site in 1991. Despite expansions to the Old Merensky Library in 1957, the library subsequently became insufficient to meet the growing needs of the institution and in 1975 the Merensky Library II was completed, currently housing 7 of 9 the faculty libraries. Besides the main Merensky Library complex, the university library system also includes the separately administered Jotello F Soga Library (Veterinary Science), Oliver R Tambo Law Library, Education Library, Mamelodi Library, Dentistry Library and Health Sciences Library. The Oliver R Tambo Law Library houses the
Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...
's collection of legal materials and the Law of Africa collection in the library is the single most comprehensive and current collection of primary legal materials of African countries. In 1974 the Jotello F Soga Library of the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the Onderstepoort campus was established and is named in honour of the first South African to qualify as a veterinary surgeon, Dr Jotello Festiri Soga. In 2006 the university established
UPSpace The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and '' de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johannesburg-based Tra ...
, its own open access digital research repository. and the university's library has since become one of 27 partners in the World Digital Library project.


Archives

In 1978 the first task group responsible for the investigation in creating an archive system for the University of Pretoria was chaired by Prof. A.N. Pelzer (Vice-rector). Due to the death of Prof. Pelzer in 1981 the project stalled, but by 1994 the need for a central archive system was again recognised by the acting Registrar, Prof. C.R. de Beer. The archives were finally established by 13 September 1994 by the Management of the university and this date is considered as the founding date of the archives of the University of Pretoria.


Research

The university's achievements and performance in research locally and internationally, including its collaboration and cooperation with the private sector, industry, science councils, foundations and NGOs, the large number of graduates that it produces (particularly doctoral and other postgraduate students) as well as scientists and engineers and its focus on innovation, contribute directly towards enhancing the South Africa's competitiveness. A 2010 report by Centre for Higher Education Transformation identified the university as a top research-intensive university in South Africa. The university is member of the
CDIO Initiative CDIO are trademarked initials for Conceive Design Implement Operate. The CDIO Initiative is an educational framework that stresses engineering fundamentals set in the context of conceiving, designing, implementing and operating real-world systems ...
, an international engineering education collaboration. The strategic alliance formed in 1999 between the University of Pretoria and the
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
(CSIR), has been abandoned for unpublished reasons. This alliance, which was known as the Southern Education and Research Alliance (SERA), collaborated locally and internationally with universities, NGOs, companies and multinational bodies in various research areas. Notable research includes: *
Centre for Human Rights The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law, South Africa, is an organisation dedicated to promoting human rights on the continent of Africa. The centre, founded in 1986, promotes human rights through educational ...
*
Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute The Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) (Pretoria) was established in 1997 and is located on the University of Pretoria campus. The initial goal of the institute was to help the development of novel food and fibre crops, tha ...
(FABI) *
African Centre for Genome Technologies The African Centre for Gene Technologies (ACGT) (Pretoria) is located on the Experimental Farm of the University of Pretoria campus, and was established by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the University of Pretoria, the Unive ...
*Department of Zoology & Entomology


Digital institutional repositories


UPeTD

UPeTD (University of Pretoria electronic theses and dissertations) was launched in July 2000 and forms part of the university's open scholarship programme. In August 2021, the Webometrics World Ranking of Institutional Repositories, UPSpace is ranked 130th Internationally, 2nd in Africa and 1st in South Africa. The records in UPeTD were migrated to the UPSpace institutional repository in August 2014, and UPeTD was subsequently discontinued.


UPSpace


UPSpace
(Institutional research repository of the University of Pretoria) is the name of the open access digital
institutional repository An institutional repository (IR) is an archive for collecting, preserving, and disseminating digital copies of the intellectual output of an institution, particularly a research institution. Academics also utilize their IRs for archiving published ...
of the University of Pretoria, established as a means for the management and dissemination of digital materials created by the institution and its community members. UPSpace contains a collection of the intellectual and research output produced by past and current researchers of the University of Pretoria. The spectrum of material covered includes the following: historical or archival material, research articles, popular research material, unpublished research, inaugural addresses, conference proceedings, technical reports and open lectures.


Reputation and ranking

;League table rankings The
QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...
ranks the university as follows: In January 2011
Webometrics The science of webometrics (also cybermetrics) tries to measure the World Wide Web to get knowledge about the number and types of hyperlinks, structure of the World Wide Web and using patterns. According to Björneborn and Ingwersen, the definiti ...
ranked the university as the 2nd in South Africa and Africa. In January 2015
Webometrics The science of webometrics (also cybermetrics) tries to measure the World Wide Web to get knowledge about the number and types of hyperlinks, structure of the World Wide Web and using patterns. According to Björneborn and Ingwersen, the definiti ...
ranked the university as the 3rd in South Africa and 4th Africa. In July 2015
Webometrics The science of webometrics (also cybermetrics) tries to measure the World Wide Web to get knowledge about the number and types of hyperlinks, structure of the World Wide Web and using patterns. According to Björneborn and Ingwersen, the definiti ...
ranked the university as the 4th in South Africa and Africa. GIBS again ranks in the top 100 – UK Financial Times Executive MBA Ranking 2019. Kya Rosa, b, Tuks-hoofingang.jpg, University of Pretoria Student Council.jpg, University of Pretoria RAG.jpg, University of Pretoria Welcoming day.jpg, University of Pretoria mascot - Oom Gert.jpg,


Student life


Residential life

Residence is provided to students in 24 undergraduate and postgraduate residences and 3 postgraduate-only residences spread over the university's campuses. The first students of the Transvaal University College resided in the
Kya Rosa Kya Rosa is a beautifully decorated late-Victorian house at the main entrance to the University of Pretoria in Pretoria, South Africa. The original building was constructed in Skinner Street in 1895 and belonged to Leo Weinthal, owner of ''The ...
, a Victorian house in Skinner Street. In 1915, the first male residence, Kollegetehuis, was constructed on the Hatfield campus and the first female residence, Asterhof, in 1925. Students not living in a university residence can join one of four Day Houses
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an
Vividus Ladies
which gives them the opportunity to partake in organised student life activities.


Student organisations

More than 100 student clubs and organisations operate on the university campus. These include numerous student government, service providers, and service organisations. The most prominent amongst these are the Student Parliament, Student Representative Council, and Constitutional Tribunal (Student Court). The Student Parliament is the plenary body of student governance and determines the wider mandate for student governance. The Student Representative Council (SRC) is the executive body of student governance and subsequently charters and provides most of the funding for other student groups, and represents students' interests when dealing with the administration. The SRC is the residential student government, specialising in programming, policy, and facilities and services. Societies are registered in the following categories as catering for religious, political, social, cultural, academic and other. The Constitutional Tribunal is the judicial body of student governance and adjudicates disputes primarily between student organisations. Its judges sit on the panel of student disciplinary hearings. The various service providers are the university's primary programming organisations, serving as a centre of social, cultural, intellectual and recreational life.


Student activities

The university has a long tradition of student activities and traditions. It is common belief that if a blossom from a
Jacaranda ''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas while cultivated around the world. The generic name is also used as the common name. The species ' ...
tree falls on your head, you will do well in the end-of-year exams. Other traditions and customs vary by residence, day house and faculty. The university started the tradition of
Rag (student society) Rags are student-run charitable fundraising organisations that are widespread in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Some are run as student societies whilst others sit with campaigns within their student unions. Most universities in the UK and Irela ...
(Afrikaans: Jool), a student-run charitable fundraising organisation, in South Africa in 1925. During Rag, students take to the streets in a parade of floats whilst collecting money for charity. The university's Springday celebrations are a declared university holiday and are held annually on the second Wednesday of September. Students' song and dance competitions include Insync (formerly Ienkmelodienk), Serenade and Serrie. In addition, the university's Drama Department hosts the annual week-long Krêkvars Arts Festival each July in the intimate Bok, Lier and Masker theatres on Hatfield campus. The festival has transformed from an event started in 2000 and centred around the drama honours students' directing course to an open festival where other students and the public at large are encouraged to put on productions. The amphitheatre hosts the annual Insync song and dance competition between the first years of the various residences and day houses in January. The annual Serenade and Serrie singing competitions between the residences and day houses are held in the Musaion and Aula theatres in July/August and April/May respectively. The winners of the Serenade competition go on to represent the university at the National Serenade competition. The university maintains the: UP Symphony Orchestra (UPSO), the only comprehensive student orchestra in Pretoria frequently performing symphonic repertoires, UP Chorale, UP Brass Band,
Tuks Camerata Tuks may refer to: * Tuks Senganga, South African rapper * a colloquial name for the University of Pretoria See also * Tuk (disambiguation) Tuk or TUK may refer to: * Tuk, Bjelovar-Bilogora County, a village near Rovišće, Croatia * Tuk, Vrbovsko ...
, UP Children's choir, UP Concert choir and the UP Youth choir. The university supports, and has been host to the annual
National Youth Orchestra A youth orchestra is an orchestra made of young musicians, typically ranging from pre-teens or teenagers to those of conservatory age. Depending on the age range and selectiveness, they may serve different purposes. Orchestras for young studen ...
course for a number of years. In addition to cultural activities, students participate in several other non-cultural activities. The university organises the annual
SAE International SAE International is a global professional association and standards organization based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, United States. Formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, the organization adopted its current name in 2006 to reflect bot ...
sanctioned student automotive engineering
Baja SAE Baja SAE is a Collegiate Design Series competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE International). Teams of students from universities all over the world design and build small off-road cars. The goal in Baja SAE is ...
competition in South Africa sponsored by
Sasol Sasol Limited, commonly referred to as Sasol, is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa, and built around coal liquefaction processes that German ...
. Baja SAE is an intercollegiate and interuniversity design competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) where teams of engineering students design, build and race small off-road cars.


Mascot

Oom Gert (translates affectionately to Uncle Gert, from Dutch and Afrikaans) has been the official university mascot since 1929 and has been the object of perennial attempted kidnappings.


Student media

The Perdeby ( The Wasp), the official university newspaper, was founded in 1939 and has a readership of approximately 30 000.
Tuks FM Tuks FM is the radio station of the University of Pretoria and one of South Africa's community broadcasters. It was one of the first community broadcasters in South Africa to be given an FM licence. Previously renowned for its alternative rock ...
(107.2 FM), the campus radio station, was established on 9 February 1981 and is hosted by university students and broadcast to the Northern Gauteng area.


Civic service

Civic service and outreach programmes are performed in the fields in which the university has proven competencies. These fields include professional associations, business and management and are performed in underdeveloped or developing communities.


Sport

The university maintains a long tradition of student participation in sport and recreation. The university has 30 registered sport clubs and 10 academies, in which 9 000 students annually participate in on a competitive and recreational level, more than 1 000 volunteers are involved in sport in various designations and capacities. In 2007, the university produced 93 Senior
Protea ''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). It is the type genus of the Proteaceae family. About 92% of the species occur only in the Cape Floristic Region, a narrow belt of mo ...
s and
Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
and 4
South Africa national rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
(Springbok) Captains. The university's sports facilities, on the Hillcrest campus, include the LC de Villiers Sports Grounds and the High Performance Centre (HPC), situated at an altitude of approximately above sea level, were developed on an area of . The HPC, which was established in 2002, has become the favoured location for the pre-departure camps of Team South Africa in addition to being chosen by several national and international federations as their preferred specialisation centre. The HPC has a bifurcated role between hosting the TuksSport academies and hosting athletes and teams for pre-season or pre-event training. The HPC includes the Institute for Sport Research, Sport Science and Medical Unit and the Sports Law Centre. HPC's TuksSport High School, established in 2002, is an independent specialised co-ed sports school catering for Grade 8 – 12 learners following the National Curriculum as offered by the Gauteng Department of Education. The school is supported by several national sporting federations and allows learners to train and travel internationally whilst staying in school.


Rugby

Rugby is a particularly popular sport, and there are competitions between residences, faculties, and the university participates in the National Club Championships, Carlton Cup and the
Varsity Cup Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each unive ...
Rugby Union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
tournament, involving the top 8 rugby playing universities in the South Africa. In the 2012 and 2013 seasons, the university won the Varsity Cup and the under 20-year-old Varsity Rugby Young Guns competitions. The Tuks Rugby League Football Club, based at the University of Pretoria, compete in the
Rhino Cup The Rhino Cup is a Semi-professional sports, semi-professional rugby league competition in South Africa and is the national first division competition. The competition currently consists of eight teams. The current holders are the Grizzlies, ...
(First Division) as ''TUKS Reds'' and in the Protea Cup (Second Division) as the ''TUKS Blues''. In the 2012–13 season, the Reds won the Rhino Cup Final and the Blues won the Protea Cup Final.


Mind Sports

The university has a very active club that was only founded in 2013. The club is affiliated to
Mind Sports South Africa Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is recognised by Act of Parliament as the national controlling body for mind sports in South Africa. Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is also an affiliate of the International eSports Federation, Fédération M ...
and caters for all the disciplines that are controlled by such National Federation. The club has had some major successes in 2014, with no less than 12 gamers qualifying for National Team Trials. The club has also become the top university club in South Africa.


Football

In 2002 the university established the Tuks Football Academy and the
University of Pretoria F.C. University of Pretoria Football Club, also known as Tuks or AmaTuks, is a South African association football club based in the Hatfield, Pretoria, Hatfield suburb of Pretoria that represents the University of Pretoria. They currently play in the ...
oginally playing in the SAFA Gauteng South Division. In the 2003–04 season the university acquired Pretoria City F.C.'s second division status, subsequently winning the National First Division (NFD)
Vodacom League The SAFA Second Division (known as the ABC Motsepe League for sponsorship reasons, and previously the Vodacom League between 1998 and 2012, was founded in 1998 as the overall third tier of South African football. The competition is regulated by ...
play-offs and being promoted to the NFD in 2004–05. In the 2006–07 season the club qualified for the
Mvela Golden League The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African association football, football after the South African Premiership. Both the South Afr ...
play-offs. In the 2008–09 season the club was a
Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of gi ...
finalist losing to
Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...
team
Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often referred to as Swallows or The Birds) is a South African professional football club based in Soweto, Johannesburg, in the Gauteng province. Founded in 1947, Swallows are one of the original two Soweto clubs ...
0–1. Following the 2011/2012 season the
University of Pretoria F.C. University of Pretoria Football Club, also known as Tuks or AmaTuks, is a South African association football club based in the Hatfield, Pretoria, Hatfield suburb of Pretoria that represents the University of Pretoria. They currently play in the ...
gained promotion to the South African
Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...
(PSL), the top domestic league.


Alumni and people

The university, in more than a century of academic service, has delivered more than 250 000 alumni. Alumni in commerce include several CEOs of JSE Top 50 and American
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
companies. Dr.
Anton Rupert Anthony Edward Rupert OMSG (4 October 1916 – 18 January 2006) was a South African businessman and conservationist. He was born on 4 October, 1916 and raised in the small town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape Province of the Union of Sou ...
was a South African entrepreneur, businessman, conservationist and founder of the
Rembrandt Group The Rembrandt Group, officially known as Rembrandt Trust (Proprietary) Limited, is a South African tobacco and industrial conglomerate founded by tycoon Anton Rupert who oversaw its eventual transition to the industrial and luxury branded goods ...
, which eventually split up into
Remgro Remgro Limited is a South African investment holding company, based in Stellenbosch. The company has interests in banking, financial services, packaging, glass products, medical services, mining, petroleum, beverage, food and personal care p ...
,
Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jew ...
, the second-largest luxury goods company in the world by turnover, and
Reinet Investments Reinet Investments S.C.A. is a Luxembourg-based investment vehicle that was demerged from the Switzerland, Swiss luxury goods company Richemont on 20 October 2008. It is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE), and at 2020 is the third-lar ...
, as of January 2008 the largest component of the
Luxembourg Stock Exchange The Luxembourg Stock Exchange, LuxSE () is based in Luxembourg City at 35A boulevard Joseph II. The chairman of the board is Alain Kinsch and the chief executive officer is Julie Becker. History A law establishing a stock exchange in Luxemb ...
. He was honoured as Tukkie of the century, former chancellor of the university, and a major benefactor of the university.
Marius Kloppers Marius Jacques Kloppers (born 26 August 1962) is a South African-born Australian businessman and former Chief Executive Officer of BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company. He was also Executive Director and Chairman of the Group Managem ...
was the CEO of
BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world ...
, the world's largest mining company and named by
CNN Money CNN Business (formerly CNN Money) is a financial news and information website, operated by CNN. The website was originally formed as a joint venture between CNN.com and Time Warner's '' Fortune'' and '' Money'' magazines. Since the spin-off of ...
as the world's 18th most powerful person in business. Johan De Nysschen was the former president at Audi Japan and is the current president of Audi America. Russell Loubser is a former CEO of the
Johannesburg Stock Exchange JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...
, and a member of the team that started the futures industry in South Africa in 1987. Meyer Kahn is the Chairman of
SABMiller SABMiller plc was an Anglo–South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by AB InBev for US$107-billion. It was the world's sec ...
the second largest brewer in the world. Alumni in law include several Judges of the High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court as well as serving as United Nations Special Rapporteurs and the
United Nations International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...
.
Johann van der Westhuizen Johann Vincent van der Westhuizen (born 26 May 1952) is a South African who served on the Constitutional Court of South Africa from February 2004 to January 2016. He was a professor of law at the University of Pretoria from 1980 to 1999, when h ...
is a judge in the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
of South Africa. He was appointed to the bench in 2004 by
Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...
. He was previously a professor at the
University of Pretoria Faculty of Law The University of Pretoria Faculty of Law was established in 1908. It consists of six academic departments, six centres, two law clinics and the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP). This faculty has Departments of Jurisprudence, Lex mercatoria ...
and the founding director of the university's
Centre for Human Rights The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law, South Africa, is an organisation dedicated to promoting human rights on the continent of Africa. The centre, founded in 1986, promotes human rights through educational ...
. He currently sits on the board of the Centre for Human Rights and the University of Pretoria Council.
Johann Kriegler Johann Christiaan Kriegler (born 29 November 1932) is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from February 1995 to November 2002. Formerly a practising silk in Johannesburg, he joined the bench as a ...
is a former
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
and
Appeal Court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellate ...
judge from South Africa. Christof Heyns (10 January 1959 – 28 March 2021), a former director (1999–2006) of the
Centre for Human Rights The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law, South Africa, is an organisation dedicated to promoting human rights on the continent of Africa. The centre, founded in 1986, promotes human rights through educational ...
, was a professor of human rights law, co-director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria and
United Nations Special Rapporteur Special rapporteur (or independent expert) is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. De ...
on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
Dire Tladi Dire Tladi (born 20 April 1975) is a professor of international law at the Department of Public Law and the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria. He is also extraordinary professor at the Public ...
is a former Principal State Law Adviser for International Law for the South African
Department of International Relations and Cooperation The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) is the foreign ministry of the South African government. It is responsible for South Africa's relationships with foreign countries and international organizations, and runs South ...
, legal advisor to the South Africa Mission to the United Nations and member of the
United Nations International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...
. Alumni in divinity include several theologians. Albert Geyser was a South African
cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
,
scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...
and anti-
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
theologian. He was one of the first Afrikaner nationalists to speak out against the
Broederbond The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was an exclusively Afrikaner Calvinist and male secret society in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of the Afrikaner people. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merw ...
and apartheid on theological grounds. He is also known for his work as one of a number of scholars involved in the first annotated edition (1953–1958) of the Bible in
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
.
Johan Heyns Johan Adam Heyns (1928–1994) was an Afrikaner Calvinist theologian and moderator of the general synod of the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) in South Africa. He was assassinated at his home in Waterkloof Ridge, Pretoria. Early life an ...
, was an influential Afrikaner Calvinist
theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
and moderator of the general
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
of the
Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NGK) is a Reformed Christian denomination in South Africa. It also has a presence in neighbouring countries, such as Namibia, Eswatini, and parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
(NGK). He was
assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
, although his murder was never officially resolved it is widely believed that it was directly related to his criticism of
Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
.
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
paid homage to him as a martyr for his country and a soldier of peace.Anti-Apartheid Minister Shot Dead in Pretoria
''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' 7 November 1994
Alumni include several sporting personalities. South Africa national rugby union team member's (
Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
) associated with the university include coach
Heyneke Meyer Heyneke Meyer (born 6 October 1967) is a professional rugby union coach, best known for coaching the Springboks from 2012 until 2015. Prior to coaching the Springboks, he spent many years at the domestic level in South Africa before coaching L ...
and former Springbok captains
Victor Matfield Victor Matfield (born 11 May 1977) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for and South African rugby union captains, captained the South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national team (Springboks) as ...
,
Wynand Claassen Wynand Claassen (born 16 January 1951, in Schweizer-Reneke) is a former South African Rugby union, rugby player and Springboks, Springbok captain. Playing career He was selected as eighth-man for Blue Bulls, Northern Transvaal whilst studying ar ...
,
Naas Botha Hendrik Egnatius 'Naas' Botha (born 27 February 1958) is a South African former rugby union player who played as a Fly-half for Northern Transvaal, Rugby Rovigo and South Africa (the Springboks). He was voted SA Rugby Player of the Year in ...
and
Joost van der Westhuizen Joost van der Westhuizen (20 February 1971 – 6 February 2017) was a South African professional rugby union player who made 89 appearances in test matches for the national team, scoring 38 tries. He mostly played as a scrum-half and partici ...
. Other notable sporting personalities include
Caster Semenya Caster Semenya Order of Ikhamanga, OIB (born 7 January 1991) is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic medal, Olympic gold medals and three World Athletics Championships, World Championships in the women's 800 metres ...
,
Tatjana Schoenmaker Tatjana Smith (née Schoenmaker; born 9 July 1997) is a South African retired swimmer who specialised in breaststroke events. She is a two-time Olympic champion and the most decorated South African Olympian in history. Smith won the gold medal i ...
and
Oscar Pistorius Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius ( , ; born 22 November 1986) is a South African double amputee, former professional sprinter, and convicted murderer. He was the 10th athlete to compete at both the Paralympic Games and Olympic Games. Pistorius r ...
, who became the first double amputee runner at an Olympic Games when he competed at the London
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. File:University of Pretoria graduation 1908-1930.jpg, File:University of Pretoria Graduation 1918.jpg, File:University of Pretoria graduation 1920.jpg, File:University of Pretoria graduation 1922.jpg,


Disputes

In 2022, when the university allegedly owed
Tshwane The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (; ; ), also known as the City of Tshwane (), is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng in South Africa. The metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pre ...
R34 million in outstanding municipal bills, Tshwane moved to disconnect the water and power supply of their Hillcrest campus. The university paid up under protest at the last minute, stating that an interruption would compromise various facilities including student residences, sensitive research equipment and experiments, data centres and live animals. The university's medical school has been ranked among the top five in the country. In 2022 Dr Angelique Coetzee, then chairwoman of the
South African Medical Association The South African Medical Association (SAMA) is a non-statutory, professional association for public- and private-sector medical practitioners in South Africa. Registered as a nonprofit organization, it acts as a trade union for its public-sect ...
, stated in a radio interview that admission processes at medical schools are highly politicized, and that medical faculties implement race quotas. After she apologized for her statements and resigned as chairwoman,
Dirk Hermann Dirk Johannes Hermann (born 13 January 1972) is a South African labour executive. He is chief executive officer of Solidarity, an Afrikaans union. He has authored four books. Personal life Hermann is the son of Marthinus Nicolaas Hermann and Mo ...
of
Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
reiterated that race-based admission processes were explicitly included in admission policies, and stated that these were detrimental to white students and health care.


Notable faculty

*
Theo Akkermann Theo Akkermann (1 November 19071 August 1982) was a German sculptor who focused on public sculptures in churches and cemeteries. He held teaching positions at the University of Pretoria and in Ghent, Belgium. Life Akkermann and his baby sister ...
(1907–1982), German sculptor *
Conrad J. Wethmar Conrad Johannes Wethmar (born 25 May 1943) is a systematic theologian, reformed theologian and emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He is guest editor of Verbum et Ecclesia. Biography He was born in Florida, Gauteng, ...
, systematic theologian *
Johan Heyns Johan Adam Heyns (1928–1994) was an Afrikaner Calvinist theologian and moderator of the general synod of the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) in South Africa. He was assassinated at his home in Waterkloof Ridge, Pretoria. Early life an ...
, systematic theologian * Lavagnon Ika, management scientist * Shudufhadzo Musida, Miss South Africa 2020 *
Lalela Mswane Lalela Lali Mswane (born 27 March 1997) is a South African beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Supranational 2022. She previously won Miss South Africa 2021 and was second runner up at Miss Universe 2021. Early life and education Mswane was ...
, Miss South Africa 2021 and
Miss Supranational 2022 Miss Supranational 2022 was the 13th edition of the Miss and Mister Supranational, Miss Supranational pageant, held on 15 July 2022, at Strzelecki Park Amphitheater in Nowy Sącz, Poland. Chanique Rabe of Namibia crowned Lalela Mswane of South ...


See also

*
Open access in South Africa Open access to scholarly communication in South Africa occurs online via journals, repositories, and a variety of other tools and platforms. Compared to other African nations, open access in South Africa has grown quickly in recent years. Accor ...
and
List of South African open access repositories Open access to scholarly communication in South Africa occurs online via journals, repositories, and a variety of other tools and platforms. Compared to other African nations, open access in South Africa has grown quickly in recent years. Accor ...


References


Further reading

* Duffey, Alexander et al. The Art & Heritage Collections of the University of Pretoria (2008) * van der Watt, F. Rectores Magnifici (2003). 196pp. * Roodt, P.H., ed. Amfiteater: skrywerstemme van oud-Tukkies (2008) Protea Boekhuis * Botha, M.C. Foundation stone laid at the University of Pretoria (1942
''UPSpace at the University of Pretoria: Hoeksteenlegging by Universiteit van Pretoria''


External links

*
University of Pretoria in a Nutshell 2012/13

– Digital Research Repository of the University of Pretoria



UP Wiki

Tukkies Life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pretoria, University Of 1908 establishments in South Africa Universities and colleges established in 1908 Public universities in South Africa Universities in Gauteng Education in Pretoria